#coelary lore

[foxfaer]

Gravity spike at sunset

[coelary]

What started as "Anomalous Electromagnetics Research Station - Cliffside" (AERSC) became the town of Aersc over the course of a few decades, not only as the center's location became increasingly important for the research of environmental anomalies, but also as an important hub for communications and as the sole access to the nearby mountain range, where mining is common. It was selected as a place for AEE research due to its favorable location against a high cliff, which provides both access to a large atmospheric distance, and shielding from the sun's rays for half the day, allowing for longer periods of untainted atmospheric data (primarily EM readings and gravitational anomaly readings). The slate cliffside is dense, rocky, and devoid of most plant and animals. Steady misting rain is a constant feature, and the "mushroom" style adobe-ash buildings are constructed deliberately to allow easy runoff of water and to prevent pooling. Food is primarily grown indoors and in hand-dug caves inside the cliff via hydroponic fungus farms, supplemented by trade and shipments of plants and proteins. The chimneys in each house are directional to prevent blowback from sudden drafts coming up or down the cliffs.

(Rapidograph, watercolor, and acrylic paint pens on paper)

[chirasul]

would karine be a conspiracy theorist?

hmmm. probably not, or at least not in any way that would be familiar to us. don't get me wrong, coelary's got it's own share of sociopolitical issues and a long history and a lot of people which would no doubt result in some truly insane and original conspiracy theories. but karine grew up learning how to assuage her mom's gradually worsening conspiracy theories, and by the time karine's mental illness started to kick into high gear, she saw it comin from a mile away and was ready for it. the thing about karine is that she's so obsessed with pursuing stimulation and being adored and reviled by others that she just doesn't have the time or patience to actually do any deep dives into topics in a way that is necessary to become a conspiracy theorist. she just loves meeting and impressing people too much to really foster the isolation necessary to become conspiracy brained. as she would say "that shit is boring. those people should get laid" but you know who is often bored, homebound, lacking stimulation, discomforted and fearful and primed to cope with all that by falling down some internet rabbit hole? Tav.

[foxfaer]

PPE for bug people

[coelary]

Colossal Cathedral Mud Daubers

These mud daubers, like many daubers, predate on one specific species of spider ("cattle spider", a spider that predates primarily on cattle hoppers) and are considered beneficial to farmers and ranchers, as they ignore all bugs except their prey.

Their characteristic towers are constructed only from Dover chalk, which is found abundantly from monoliths scattered throughout Posteven's heavily farmed eastern floodplain, north and south of Coelary. The daubers bite off large chunks of chalk and then fly it to their towers, constructing them bit by bit. It is unknown why the towers are constructed separately instead of in groups; leading theories are that these larger predators prefer to separate towers by function, as each tower seems to be exclusively for an individual purpose (food storage, egg hatching, adult housing, etc). Close proximity may confuse young daubers as to where food sources are.

Each dauber is about the size of a car and shows no signs of understanding language or any other human activity, and are assumed to be feral, like many of Posteven's colossal insects.

[coelary]

How is graffiti treated in Coelary? I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately and consider it a cultural keystone - I was wondering how the bugfolk felt about it.

Great question! Graffiti is treated as a kind of speech and expression, which is protected in Coelary. Therefore, graffiti placed on any structure considered "public" probably won't be removed unless it is considered harmful and/or offensive. Which, let's be real, sometimes means that an annoying busybody might complain enough to get something completely innocuous removed, but that doesn't happen very often. Most people mind their business.

Particularly notable graffiti on a public place might even become "protected" - that is, if the community elects for it to be considered representative or notable, and then it becomes managed by the local public works council, which can manage upkeep or replacement.

Graffiti on private property is not any different than any other kind of defacement, though, so don't get caught! Private structures that are abandoned or completely unmanaged can be considered the same as public property.

[foxfaer]

Dr. Berry, Karine's therapist. At work, and at home. She almost never takes off her glasses at work. You don't want her to take off her glasses.

[chirasul]

for the ama post: I want to ask who was the first character ever conceptualized for Coelary and have they changed much from their original incarnation? and if so, in what ways?

the VERY FIRST bug character I made was Arsenia! and she has changed a LOT since her first iteration, but I found her style pretty quick and then I've been refining her design ever since.

gonna put some images under a readmore because my first drawings of arsenia are NAKED!

this is the very first drawing of Arsenia, based on a threadwing antlion. i posted it on twitter on September 8th, 2012 (good god over 10 years ago)

i started drawing her a lot more within the next year, where she started to assume her current form, which was influenced by anime styles i was trying to emulate:

i had these vague ideas of her story, which i slowly started to piece together into a webcomic. arsenia's design varied wildly due to my extreme lack of art skills

the first few pages of this were posted on the Coelary tumblr back in 2013, though the script quickly outpaced what I could draw, so I quit programming school and started art school in 2015 (at age 25) and yes: i did in fact go to art school just so i could make coelary

(this one's from 2017)

by the time i started drawing final art for Coelary from 2017-2020, Arsenia's final design was basically locked in and I could draw her fairly consistently each time

(2021 Arsenia)

nobody really tells you this, but designing a character is largely about getting to know them over time, especially as you cultivate your style and build your skills

(2023 Arsenia)

To be totally honest, I don't really FEEL like Arsenia's design has changed over the past decade, per se; it more just felt like I had to learn to make my art skill live up to the idea of her. But I think I'm there! I can finally draw her the way I originally imagined her.

I hope that's what you were looking for and feel free to ask any followup questions!